Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice of Request for Approval of a New Information Collection |
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Michael Howell
Federal Highway Administration
June 23, 2015
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 120 (Tuesday, June 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36039-36040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15371]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[Docket No. FHWA-2015-0013]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice of Request for
Approval of a New Information Collection
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Request for Approval of a New Information Collection.
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SUMMARY: The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to
request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of a new
information collection that is summarized below.
DATES: Please submit comments by August 24, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number
2015-0013 by any of the following methods:
Web site: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of Transportation, West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Nesbitt
(michael.nesbitt@dot.gov), 202-366-1179, Office of Infrastructure,
Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: National Transportation Performance Management (TPM)
Implementation Review, TPM Toolbox, and TPM State-of-Practice
Questionnaires.
Type of request: New information collection requirement.
Background: Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-
21) transformed the Federal-aid highway program by establishing new
requirements for transportation performance management to ensure the
most efficient investment of Federal transportation funds.
Transportation performance management increases the accountability and
transparency of the Federal-aid highway program and provides for a
framework to support improved investment decision making through a
focus on performance outcomes for key national transportation goals.
State transportation agencies (STAs) will be expected to use the
information and data generated as a result of the new regulations to
make better informed transportation planning and programming decisions.
The new performance aspects of the Federal-aid program will allow FHWA
to better communicate a national performance story and to more reliably
assess the impacts of Federal funding investments.
Overview: Under the ``National Transportation Performance
Management (TPM) Implementation Review, TPM State-of-Practice
Questionnaires, and TPM Toolbox '' information collection request, the
FHWA will collect information on the current state of the practice,
data, methods, and systems used by state, metropolitan, regional,
local, and/or tribal transportation entities to support their TPM
processes in accordance with MAP-21 Sec. Sec. 1106, 1112-1113, 1201-
1203; 23 U.S.C. 119, 134-135, and 148-150. This information will also
be used to develop and deliver existing and future Federal Highway
Programs through successful partnerships, value-added stewardship, and
risk-based oversight. Underpinning this effort will be a robust focus
on improving FHWA and its partners' capacity to implement performance
provisions. The information collected from these activities will
translate into having a better skilled workforce, effective supporting
systems, and clearly articulated programs that are optimally positioned
and equipped to deliver the FHWA's mission. In general, the components
of the ``National TPM Implementation Review, TPM State-of-Practice
Questionnaires, and TPM Toolbox'' will involve questions related to:
1. TPM and MAP-21 related implementation efforts, programs, and
activities,
2. Needs for guidance and policy concerning MAP-21's TPM related
provisions;
3. TPM capacity building needs;
4. Effectiveness implementing performance based planning and
programming and TPM processes.
The most consequential activity covered by the ICR is the
``National TPM Implementation Review,'' which will be conducted twice.
The first National TPM Implementation Review is scheduled to be
administered in the spring of 2016 and will establish a baseline to
assess:
1. FHWA and its partners progress implementing MAP-21 performance
provisions and related TPM best practices; and
2. The effectiveness of performance-based planning and programming
processes and transportation performance management.
The second National TPM Implementation Review will be conducted
several years later and will be used to assess FHWA and its partners'
progress addressing any gaps or issues identified during the first
review.
The findings from the first review will be used in a pair of
statutory reports to Congress due in 2017 on the effectiveness of
performance-based planning and programming processes and transportation
performance management (23 U.S.C. 119, 134(l)(2)-135(h)(2)). The
findings from the second review will be used in a subsequent follow-up
report. It is important to note that this is not a compliance review.
The overall focus of the National TPM Implementation Review is on the
TPM and performance-based planning processes used by STAs and
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), not the outcomes of those
processes. Due to the sensitivity of the collected information, FHWA
will only report aggregated information to the general public and in
its report to Congress. However, information from individual reviews
will be made readily available to the respective respondent (i.e., STA,
MPOs, etc), FHWA staff for internal uses, and a limited number of FHWA
partners and associations who sign nondisclosure agreements.
[[Page 36040]]
In addition to the more formal National TPM Implementation Review,
FHWA will conduct yearly informal voluntary TPM State-of-Practice
questionnaires related to TPM policy and guidance, technical
assistance, and capacity needs. These voluntary information collection
actions will occur 1 to 2 times per year. The information will be
collected from state, metropolitan, regional, local, and/or tribal
transportation agencies via internet-based questionnaires or web
applications and used to help FHWA:
Strategically plan to meet ever growing demand for TPM
technical assistance needs;
Develop and refine TPM policy and guidance based on
stakeholder feedback;
Channel resources to meet capacity development and
training needs; and
Identify and prioritize TPM research needs.
Lastly, as part of FHWA's ongoing technical assistance efforts, a
TPM Toolbox is being created to help FHWA's partners self-assess and
benchmark their TPM implementation progress, capabilities, and gaps.
The TPM Toolbox also helps FHWA streamline the integration and
administration of all the efforts described above. To maximize the
effectiveness and efficiency of the TPM Toolbox, FHWA will collect
business contact and organizational demographic (size of organization,
location, etc.) information along with the responses submitted as part
of the TPM Toolbox's self-assessment applications.
Respondents: The 975 respondents estimate is based on soliciting
input from all 52 state transportation agencies, 409 MPOS, and a
sampling of transit agencies, RPOs, and other transportation entities.
Frequency: Each State, MPO, RPO, and a sampling of transit agencies
will be solicited to provide information up to 4 times per year. This
is dependent on whether information is being collected on the National
Transportation Performance Management Implementation Review and the
frequency of state-of-practice questionnaires.
Estimated Average Burden per Response: Up to 2 hours per response
or 8 hours per year for all responses (4 questionnaires per year times
up to 2 hours per questionnaire).
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The total annual burden for
all respondents is estimated to be 7,800 burden hours per year (8
burden hours per respondent times 975 respondents). The annual number
of burden hours (professional and clerical staff) per respondent to
answer questions on the current state of the practice, data, methods,
and systems used by state, metropolitan, regional, local, and/or tribal
transportation entities to support their required TPM processes is
estimated to be up to 8 (4 questionnaires per year times up to 2 hours
per questionnaire). This annual burden per respondent consists of the
staff time of each respondent. The burden was determined as follows:
Professional Staff Time:
1.5 hour/respondent x 975 respondents x 4 questionnaires per year =
5850 hours
Clerical staff time:
0.5 hours/respondent x 975 respondents x 4 questionnaires per year
= 1,950 hours
The total annual associated salary cost to respondents is estimated
to be $257,400 based on an average salary of $38 per hour
(approximately $79,000 per year) for professional staff and $18 per
hour (approximately $37,000 year) for clerical staff.
Professional staff cost for preparation of work programs:
5,850 hours x $38 per hour = $222,300
Clerical staff time:
1,950 hours x $18 per hour = $35,100
Total annual costs:
Subtotal Direct Salaries $257,400
Overhead/fringe benefits at 33%: $84,942
Total annual respondent cost: $342,342
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the U.S. DOT's performance,
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the
accuracy of the U.S. DOT's estimate of the burden of the proposed
information collection; (3) ways to enhance the quality, usefulness,
and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that the burden
could be minimized, including the use of electronic technology, without
reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency will
summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's
clearance of this information collection.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C.
chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.
Issued On: June 15, 2015.
Michael Howell,
Information Collection Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-15371 Filed 6-22-15; 8:45 am]
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